Ruby: Your lifestyle questions answered
Wellness and lifestyle guru Ruby Deevoy is here to answer your questions and help you feel beautiful inside and out!
The Terrible Ten
Switching your mainstream brand cosmetics for natural alternatives is one of the best things you can do for your health and wellbeing, as well as that of our planet. But simply choosing a brand that touts itself as ‘natural’ doesn’t always mean you’re getting the real deal. Research revealed that 10 toxic ingredients were found repeatedly in products wrongfully claiming to be natural and organic. Look out for (and avoid) the following:
Ethyl hexylsalicylate
A potential cause of acute allergies and detrimental to the immune system, as well as being considered harmful for the environment.
Homosalate
Shown to cause allergies and to have a serious effect on hormone function, particularly in men and developing babies.
Imidazolidinyl ruea
May release formaldehyde – a class one carcinogen.
Octinoxate
A hormone disruptor and harmful to the neurological development of babies. This stuff stuffffstuff also bioaccumulates, meaning that once you use it on your skin, it sinks in and sticks around for a long time.
Octocrylene
A UV absorber with the added edge of being a skin irritant, strong allergen, and allergy causing when exposed to sunlight (which kind of defeats the point…)
PEGS: PEG-7; PEG-40; PEG-200; PEG-12
PEGS are derived from petroleum – do you need to know more?!
Polyquaternium 7
Linked to cancer and toxic to the environment.
Polysorbate 20
Commonly found in shampoos and flea treatments, polysorbate 20 has been associated with serious eye irritation and many allergic skin reactions.
Red 17 artificial colour 26100
Harmful to the liver and kidneys, persistent in wildlife and there has been strong evidence to suggest a cancer link.
Retinyl palmitate
Regular use of products containing this ingredient can lead to a toxic level of vitamin A in the body, which has been linked to developmental toxicity or foetal malformations in babies in the womb.